Though I have never witnessed one before, I have heard and also read stories of people,
Story, story, story! OK, the following is a story I read myself, it's an example of what superstition is causing in our society
Source: Sunnewsonline.com, Crime Watch Index:
Woman loses millions in encounter with fraudsters
By Juliana Francis
Thursday, January 27, 2005Detectives have nailed some fraudsters in Abeokuta, Ogun State, after the swindlers had dealt with a desperate business woman and almost milked her dry of financial resources running into millions of naira.
The woman, described as a business magnate, was said to have solicited the assistance of the police when she became wary of the incessant demands of the two fraudsters. Daily Sun learnt that the rich woman wanted more money, so she sought spiritual help, when her multi-million naira business began to suffer series of misfortunes.
However, the incident of December 2004, was one that would remain indelible in the memory of the poor woman who wishes to remain anonymous. She reportedly told the police that in a bid to seek for more money to prop up her failing business and arrest her declining fortunes occasioned by other family problems, she had been forced to seek the assistance of a herbalist in Abeokuta. She was, however, disappointed when she got there and discovered that the herbalist was dead and that his son had taken his place.
The herbalist's son, identified as Adisa Onosode, was touted to have as much potent powers as his late father.
Onosode allegedly prepared some charms for the woman and charged her N10,000 on the spot. She was, however, surprised when Onosode called her few days later and asked her to return some of the charms he made for her.
A police source told Daily Sun: "She went back to him and she was there, when Taiwo Shogburo, the other suspect, working in tandem with Adisa, came in. He began to prophesy to her about her problems. She didn’t know it was a conspiracy. Adisa started praising Taiwo and declaring him a powerful spiritualist. Of course, the woman swallowed the bait hook, line and sinker. She asked for the solution to her problems."
The woman said: "Taiwo told us that he had to do a little sacrifice to see if the gods would accept his helping me to solve the problems. He proffers a strange manner of doing the divination. He said, if he boiled water and poured it on me and it did not scald me, it meant the gods had accepted; however, if the boiling water scalded me, the sacrifice was not accepted by the gods."
Consequently, she was dressed in palm fronds and saw the steaming water boiled in her presence. However, they must have exchanged the pot on the fire while she was changing out of her clothes. So, when the water was poured over her, it felt cold.
According to the Police, that was the final magic the woman needed to submit totally to the whims and caprices of the fraudster. So, Taiwo told her that a powerful spirit was eating all her good fortunes. According to him, it was the target of the spirit to take her life. To avert this evil wish, more sacrifices were said to be needed to cleanse her home of the diabolical effect of the design of the spirit.
They demanded N100,000 to foot the bill of the sacrifice, which they claimed would be done in her home.
"Once in her room, Taiwo said he was seeing strange things. The woman confirmed that she saw a big snake. Adisa attempted to charge at the snake. He immediately fell down and started foaming at the mouth. He was rushed along with the woman and her husband to a shrine at Ikorodu. However, it was later discovered it was all a ruse. According to the suspect, the snake was a rubber snake, which uses battery."
The shrine at Ikorodu was located in a very isolated part, in the middle of a bush. It has three thatched huts. Before entering one of the huts, Taiwo made some incantations and opened the door, but it was empty of people. Taiwo said it was disappointing, because the gods ought to be in the room. After a second incantation, the door was opened and Taiwo ordered the woman and her husband to enter with their backs.
"As they opened their eyes, they saw light and three women. The women told her to shut her eyes that she must not sight the dead. The woman became overwhelmed with fear and she shut her eyes. The strange women began to narrate all her problems and she asked them for the necessary remedy. They asked her to bring nine horses. Taiwo told her each horse goes for N100,000. They offered to help her purchase the horses and she paid cash," said the source.
When they asked her what she wanted, she asked for dollars. Daily Sun also gathered that the men not only collected dollars from the woman in the guise of providing her with more, but also took her to a cemetary where a strange voice allegedly spoke to her.
Realising her purse was running lean, the woman had confided in a relation, who contacted policemen at the Area ‘G’ command. When Daily Sun visited the area commander, Mr Sam Ojehume, to confirm the story, he said: "We’ve interrogated them and they’ve confessed to the crime.
They said it was all a trick. We went to the shrine. At the gate of the third hut, we saw that there was an underground tunnel. It was about a hundred feet long. When we opened the first hut, we saw a tunnel covered with mat and rug. It is our suspicion that the three women (goddesses) suspected to be the wives of the fraudsters came out through the tunnel. However, the fraudsters have refunded at least N400,000 to the woman."
Daily Sun learn that the woman must have been duped of over N3 million. And attempts to interview the suspects failed as they pretended as if they did not understand or speak English. Moreover, when their photographs were to be taken, they backed the camera, to hide their identity.